Identified! MI - Monroe Co., Female 620UFMI, 20-28, Lake Erie, Mar'82 - Kimberly Wuerthele

[Angie4b1g]

With her estimated time of death being "several weeks to a month prior" I can't imagine she'd be out on a boat in just a shirt tied up like that. Even 70 degrees would feel cold enough on the water to need a sweater.

 

[webrocket]

how could the UID have possibly been in the water for weeks if they knew her eye color? I got the impression from all the discussions here that eyes (for the lack of abetter term) are highly perishable and after a few days they don't get much info on them.

given the way she was dressed, my hunch is that she was picked up at a bar, someplace a little warmer than on the streets.

 

[webrocket]

The UID was fully recovered, and her NamUs profile does not indicate any trauma, or any reason to think this was other than an accidental drowning. Also, her shirt being tied up like that and not wearing shoes makes me wonder if she was on a boat...

see post #54 from Carl. she was strangled.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

Oh, wow, yes, the cord was still around her neck according to that article.

But I still don't see how she could have been in the water a month. I didn't check the weather as far back as February, but I would think the lake would have been frozen then....

 

[Irish_Eyes]

From the article Carl posted:

As she was discovered in the early spring, there is a strong possibility that the cold temperatures of the Michigan winter kept her preserved for an extended period of time.

So maybe she was there that long....strange...

 

[Angie4b1g]

So like... since fall? What are they saying?

 

[webrocket]

cold water or not I don't know how her eyes would stay so well preserved for an extended period of time.

 

[ThePhantom]

Been researching this case for a long time. Have looked at missing females from all the surrounding states plus Canada & beyond. Is anyone looking for her? They have a great composite of her -- and her DNA. Is this another case like the "Mall Man" -- where he went unidentified for years, even though his family lived in a community not that far away? Somehow they missed seeing his picture in the local newspapers.

 

[ThePhantom]

Been researching this case for a long time. Have looked at missing females from all the surrounding states plus Canada & beyond. Is anyone looking for her? They have a great composite of her -- and her DNA. Is this another case like the "Mall Man" -- where he went unidentified for years, even though his family lived in a community not that far away? Somehow they missed seeing his picture in the local newspapers. What about this young lady? I've often thought she could have been a runaway/hitchhiker.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

I really wish Susan Cappel's name was on the ruleout list. I think they would have had to look at her....hair, eyes, height, weight, circumstances, timeline, and geography are all very much possible. Maybe it's because of the discoloration on her tooth. There is no mention of that with the UID.

https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/7928/0/

 

[ctaylor]

I just read this November article that says Paulette Jaster's sister has provided a new DNA sample.
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2011/11/police_checking_dna_to_make_su.html

A detective is quoted as saying what they are doing is just a confirmation but they wanted to double check. I could not find any further update though.

 

[JupiterAmmon]

Hope they solve this case soon! I wonder why they wanted a second sample of Paulette's DNA? Do they think this doe could still possibly be her?!

 

[CarlK90245]

The decedent has been identified as Kimberly Wuerthele, of Portage IN.

The Portage Police Department and the Monroe County, Mich., Sheriff’s Office are reporting the identification of a Portage woman who was allegedly the victim of a homicide in 1982.

Formally known as “Monroe County Jane Doe 1982”, Kimberly Wuerthele’s family reported her missing on June 22, 1982 after they had not seen her since she jumped from a car in February that year when family members were taking her to Chicago to get her help for an addiction problem, police said. Wuerthele was 21 years old at the time.

On March 31, 1982 an unidentified female body washed up on Lake Erie in Monroe, Mich. and the case was ruled a homicide after an autopsy was performed, police said.

Read More:
http://www.chestertontribune.com/PoliceFireEmergency/720126 dna_database_helps_id_portage_wo.htm

I was looking all over the place for a photo of Kimberly Wuerthele. Just last week, I found a photo of a girl from Pittsburgh with the same name and same age, but I e-mailed Emily Craig, and she indicated that this girl didn't have the same DOB. I was looking through all the yearbooks for schools in the Irving Park area of Chicago. No wonder I couldn't find her. She was from Portage, IN.

I had this Jane Doe in mind, but I was a little doubtful because her physical description in her NamUs no-photo casefile indicated that she had a prominently protruding upper canine tooth.

 

[Irish_Eyes]

So sad. I spent many hours trying to figure out the identity of MCJD. I'm guessing her case was in Namus? I wonder if this is one of those where the reported missing date was entered instead of the date last seen?

 

[CarlK90245]

So sad. I spent many hours trying to figure out the identity of MCJD. I'm guessing her case was in Namus? I wonder if this is one of those where the reported missing date was entered instead of the date last seen?

Yes, she was in NamUs with a "No Photo" casefile (UP Case 13436). Her Date LKA was listed as 26-Feb-1982, so there wasn't an issue with the dates.

Her listed height was 5'2" to 5'4", so that was inline with the 5'4" measured height of the Jane Doe. Her age (21) was within the estimated age range (20 - 28)

 

[webrocket]

she probably would have been identified much sooner if they had a photo in her profile. the resemblance was better than average especially the resonctruction on the left in your post before Carl.

 

[chaddylex]

This was one of the UID cases I have followed for a few years now.. I am glad she got her name back. RIP Kimberly,,,

 

[Woodland]

I'm looking forward to hearing how incorrect info was assigned to Kimberly. It makes no sense to me.

Yesterday I was browsing past articles on her and found one (I think it was a blog) with a picture of K more in the 20 year-old range, along with the other picture that was usually shown of her. Very beautiful girl. Her hair is longer, with some of it pulled back and she is smiling - perfect teeth. I'm beating myself up that I cannot find it again to link here.

What struck me is why was the more recent picture of her not used all along? The picture that was used seems she is more in the 17 year-old range, and she is not smiling in order for one to see her teeth.

The picture chosen was supplied by the family?

 

[wintermute]

The picture that was used seems she is more in the 17 year-old range, and she is not smiling in order for one to see her teeth.

The picture chosen was supplied by the family?

The one photo available of Kimberly appears to be from her license and was taken about a year before she disappeared. Here is a version of her photo ID that hasn't been cropped as much:

http://m.toledoblade.com/Police-Fir...30-years-ago-identified-as-Indiana-woman.html

 

[CarlK90245]

I'm looking forward to hearing how incorrect info was assigned to Kimberly. It makes no sense to me.

Yesterday I was browsing past articles on her and found one (I think it was a blog) with a picture of K more in the 20 year-old range, along with the other picture that was usually shown of her. Very beautiful girl. Her hair is longer, with some of it pulled back and she is smiling - perfect teeth. I'm beating myself up that I cannot find it again to link here.

What struck me is why was the more recent picture of her not used all along? The picture that was used seems she is more in the 17 year-old range, and she is not smiling in order for one to see her teeth.

The picture chosen was supplied by the family?

The one big discrepancy was that her NamUs casefile indicated in the Physical Description section that she had a very prominent protruding upper canine tooth. The Jane Doe's description indicated that she had "exceptionally straight teeth" that were possibly straightened by orthodontics. So I suppose the bit about the protruding tooth was obsolete info describing how she looked before her teeth were corrected with orthodontics.

That one bit of info led me to conclude that she probably wasn't the Lake Erie Jane Doe. I spent quite a bit of time trying to locate a photo, but couldn't find one (i.e. of the correct Kim Wuerthele).

ETA: Another discrepancy was eye color. Her driver's license indicates blue eyes. The DoeNet description indicates brown eyes. I don't remember what her NamUs MP casefile (or the Jane Doe's NamUs UP casefile) indicated for eye color.